Powers/Abilities: Originally,
Arthur Parks used wrist-mounted lasers that allowed him to focus highly
concentrated beams of photons (which are particles of light), or laser
beams, at various targets. The beams ranged from wide destructive
blasts to pinpoints of focused light capable of bursting through steel.
Parks designed other weapons for himself, such as boot jets allowing
him to fly short distances and a massive laser cannon. In time, he
implanted miniature graviton generations in sections of his skin,
allowing him to absorb light, store it, and release it as a laser beam,
generally fired from him hands. By storing up greater amounts of
energy, Parks could utilize greater bursts of energy, create
short-lived holographic images, teleport, hypnotize others, and render
himself temporarily invisible.

After his powers were altered by
Kenneth Sturdy,
Parks lost his ability to control his powers and began absorbing light
involuntarily, having to have it absorbed or dispelled to maintain
corporeal form. In time, he transformed completely into an energy being
made up of photons, held together by a human consciousness housed in an
electrical field. Parks controls his energy form through sheer force of
will, though he has varying levels of sanity and ability to control his
own form. He can increase his photons' density and project them outward
in laser blasts, can temporarily will himself solid, can travel at the
speed of light, can create solid light constructs, can create complex
holograms, shift his energy frequencies (to ultra-violet, radio waves,
and others), bend light molecules to render himself invisible, disrupt
energy attacks, and start fires with light molecules. Living Laser is
capable of communicating with other beings telepathically briefly. He
can survive in the vastness of space and has no need to eat, breathe,
or sleep. Parks briefly wore the Serpent
Crown, which gave him
temporary powers granted by the Serpent God, Set. Living Laser can
generally be repelled by mirrors or mirror-reflected shields. If his
internal frequencies are disrupted, or overpowered by a stronger
frequency, Living Laser's photons can be scattered, repelled, or
absorbed. If human chi, or spirit, is utilized in an attack, Living
Laser is still capable of feeling human pain. Living Laser was briefly
given the power to track targeted heroes through the Asgardian Norn
Stones, which also briefly increased his own powers.

(Iron Man I#289 (fb) - BTS) - A
talented research physicist, Arthur Parks loved the research early on
in his career, eating cheap meals so he could afford expensive
equipment.

(Avengers I#34 (fb) - BTS) - Parks
was dating the beautiful Lucy Barton until she dumped him for a
banker's son. Parks assumed she dumped him because he didn't have
enough money. Bitter, he designed a deadly laser weapon and a costume
that would help him get the money he needed to impress her.

(Avengers I#34) - Testing out his
new costume, Parks broke into a bank vault, easily blasting through
with his chest-mounted laser, taking the money, and escaping through
the wall. Later, Parks saw Lucy talking to Janet Van Dyne, who he
recognized as the Avenger Wasp. Parks immediately fell in love and grew
determined to win Janet's heart by impressing her. He donned his
costume again and, calling himself the Living Laser, staked out the
Avengers so that he could get Giant-Man, the Wasp's boyfriend, alone
and defeat him. He followed Wasp and Giant-Man to a lab, where they met
Bill Foster. Living Laser watched through a hole he made in the roof
until Wasp left, then blasted his way through to attack. Giant-Man did
his best to defend himself, using machinery as a shield and changing
size to avoid Living Laser's wrist-mounted weapons. The fight moved
outside, where Giant-Man knocked Living Laser off his feet with a torn
root, blinded him with thrown dirt, and wrapped him in his own cape
before knocking him unconscious. Captain America and Hawkeye arrived to
take Living Laser to jail, but the villain awakened aboard the airship
and shot his way free through the floor, flying away with his jetpack.
Laser designed a deadlier laser for his costume and tested it on a
condemned building. He rigged a building with traps, then started
firing at cars at random to lure the Avengers in. When
Captain America and Hawkeye attacked, he trapped them in a cage of
lasers, then lured the tiny Wasp into an air vacuum, where he knocked
her out in a bottle with gas. He set the cage to restrict, planning on
killing the Avengers, and departed with the Wasp.

(Avengers I#35) - Pleased with
himself and his captive, Laser flew off, destroying more property
before meeting with Costa Verden rebel leaders Valdez and Carlos, who
agreed to pay him ten million to overthrow the Costa Verden dictator.
Laser flirted with the captive Wasp, who refused his advances, then
took her to Costa Verde, where he easily thwarted the government's
tanks, planes, and soldiers with his powerful lasers. Learning that the
Avengers had escaped his trap, he helped the rebels design a massive
laser cannon, with which he shot down the Avengers' ship. As the
Avengers approached the castle, Laser fired on them with precision
until Hawkeye collapsed the roof on him. He used the cannon to again
dislodge them into the water, then bragged to the Wasp of his success,
telling her his real name and vowed to win her over. Laser secretly
planned to rule Costa Verde himself, glorying in the power he held, but
grew furious when he learned the Avengers were still alive. When
Giant-Man tried freeing the Wasp, Laser knocked him out with a laser
blast, then tied him up in powerful chains. He tied the captive Captain
America and Hawkeye in front of his cannon and planned to kill them
with a blow that would impress the Wasp, even when she escaped. He
tried firing the cannon quickly, not knowing Giant-Man had sabotaged
it. The resulting explosion left Laser defeated.

(Avengers
Annual I#1) - When his wrist-mounted lasers appeared in his cell, Parks
wondered where they'd come from but grew determined to use them to
escape. He tinkered with them briefly, then used the lasers to cut
through his bars and hold off the guards. Iron Man attacked and hit
Parks with a repulsor ray and Parks hit the hero with a laser in
return. Parks then brought down the ceiling just before he disappeared,
teleported across the world by the Mandarin, who had given him the
lasers in the first place. Parks put on a new costume Mandarin had
designed for him, then met the other villains Mandarin had recruited
for his new team Mandarin's Minions, including Enchantress,
Executioner, Power Man, and Swordsman. Laser acted like he didn't need
the allies, but quieted down when Mandarin seemingly destroyed
potential recruit Sub-Mariner. Mandarin showed them a massive diamond
he was planning on using to create a deadly weapon to rule the world
with. He split the team into three on varying assignments, and Laser
was assigned to take over a diamond rich area of South Africa. Given
the mighty Ultimo as backup, he blasted a hole in Parliament and
demanded the country be turned over to him. The citizens called him mad
just as Thor and Hawkeye attacked and Laser avoided Thor's thrown
hammer and returned fire on the heroes. Hawkeye exploded the ledge
Laser was on, so Laser fled to the street, avoided more arrows, then
took hostages in Parliament. When one of the hostages ran for a gun,
Laser fired on him, but Thor deflected the laser with his hammer, then
Hawkeye pinned Laser's gloves to the wall with arrows. The heroes
managed to defeat Ultimo and left Laser tied up while they went after
Mandarin.

(Captain America I#105) - Batroc
the Leaper formed a new Brigade consisting of Living Laser and
Swordsman. After Laser demonstrated his powers on a deadly weapon, he
claimed he was only testing his teammates' nerves. Batroc announced
that they were going to steal a newly developed Seismo-Bomb, then sell
it to another nation for a million dollars. While they searched for it,
Captain America attacked and defeated the Swordsman, just before a
shockwave from the bomb went off, shaking the building. Laser held off
Cap while Batroc kept searching, putting up a heat-barrier of lasers
around the hero's shield to keep him from getting it. He shot at
Captain America repeatedly until Cap smashed his laser units against
the wall, breaking them. Another shock hit and Laser, realizing the
city was in danger, gave up Batroc's location. Cap successfully
disabled the bomb.

(Avengers I#78 (fb) - BTS) - Grim
Reaper recruited Laser to be part of the new Lethal Legion, who planned
to take down the Avengers. Teammates included Power Man, Swordsman, and
Man-Ape.

(Avengers I#79) - Grim Reaper
yelled at his allies about how worthless they were before he bonded
them, and they all grew impatient to get their revenge. They planned a
trap for the Avengers, and Reaper ordered Laser and Man-Ape to wait at
the nearby power station. When Captain America and Quicksilver arrived,
Man-Ape knocked them off the stairs, but Quicksilver easily knocked
Laser back with a punch. Laser fired repeatedly at the speedster,
finally hitting him with scattered concrete, as Man-Ape defeated Cap.
The others, meanwhile, captured Goliath (Hawkeye's new identity) and
the Scarlet Witch, but Thor and Iron Man remained free. The Legion put
the captive heroes in one mighty deathtrap as Power Man returned with a
captive Vision, but the Reaper freed them when he learned Vision may be
connected to his brother. Vision then revealed he'd been in Power Man's
costume and attacked . The heroes rushed at them and Laser fired on
Quicksilver again, who revealed that they'd only been feigning defeat
before. The villains were all swiftly defeated.

(Avengers Annual I#6 (fb)) - While
in prison, Parks started studying the legend of ancient Lemuria and
learned of the Serpent Crown, an ancient artifact purported to give its
wearer vast power. After his release, he searched for the Crown, but
discovered it had been destroyed months before. Continuing to
experiment with lasers, Parks used Brand Corporation's equipment to
mutate himself, allowing him to utilize lasers from his own body, to
create illusions and control light waves, and to teleport.

(Avengers I#151) - Laser saw the
Wasp on a TV special and remembered his hatred for the Avengers. He
talked to his ally, the General, and flew off wondering if he would
pursue this new plan or not.

(Avengers Annual I#6 (fb) - BTS) -
General Pollock sold information about Nuklo, an incredibly powerful
radioactive being, who was being stored in a government hideout.

(Avengers I#153) - Creating
illusions with his powers, Laser manipulated Whizzer (Bob Frank, the
father of Nuklo) into attacking the Avengers while Laser ordered Wonder
Man to escape from Avengers Mansion. Laser then went to the
Brand/Roxxon facility, where the powerful Serpent Crown had been left,
and he defeated Scarlet Witch to take possession of the Crown. After he
overwhelmed the Brand security forces, Laser teleported back to
Avengers mansion, where he hypnotized Wonder Man using his laser powers
and the Serpent Crown. While Laser tracked down Pollock and Nuklo,
Wonder Man was stopped by the Avengers. When Captain America and Iron
Man attacked the base, Laser knocked them out from behind. The other
Avengers then arrived and surprised Pollock's traitorous military
forces, who helped Laser hold them back. Nuklo was soon freed from his
containment and took down Laser in a blast. Nuklo was soon defeated and
Laser was arrested.

(Avengers I#164) - Count Nefaria
recruited Power Man and had him break Laser and Whirlwind out of
prison. The trio stopped to rob a bank and Laser showed off his powers,
destroying a cop car, until Captain America, Wasp, and Yellowjacket
(Giant-Man's new identity) attacked, hitting Laser with a shield. The
two insect Avengers zapped Laser repeatedly. Laser nearly killed Cap
and Black Panther in a wide blast, but a hex from the Scarlet Witch
doused him in water and sent the trio of villains running. They
returned to Nefaria's mansion, wondering what his plans for them were.

(Avengers I#166 (fb)) - Nefaria
had scientist Kenneth Sturdy work to boost the natural power levels of
the three villains, increasing the capabilities of Laser's equipment.
The empowered villains went to attack the Avengers.

(Avengers I#164) - Goliath threw a
car threw the Avengers' window and the heroes, including Beast and
Wonder Man, attacked. Black Panther hit Laser, who felt his increased
powers draining and he collapsed. The villains didn't realize that
Nefaria had stolen their powers, increasing his own a hundred-fold, and
Nefaria then attacked the Avengers.

(Avengers I#166 - BTS) - Nefaria
was defeated by the Avengers. Laser and the others were arrested.

(Iron Man I#153 (fb)) - Parks
found himself absorbing light energy involuntarily and constantly
glowing in the slow release of that energy; though he was able to give
off small laser bursts, he feared he was dying. Now quite literally a
living laser, Parks was approached by the Soviet government, who sought
to drain the excess energy off him to power secret satellites. Thinking
this might save his life, Parks agreed, ignoring his discomfort with
betraying his country. Parks spent the following months learning better
control over his new powers.

(Iron Man I#152) - Parks was
stationed in East Germany at the Heaven's Hand base, where he was
ordered to fight against the attacking Iron Man. Iron Man successfully
liberated captives Alexander Van Tilburg and Bethany Cabe before Laser
downed him with a macro-burst.

(Iron Man I#153) - Iron Man woke
in restraints, his hands bound in aviation tape and positioned in front
of a large laser cannon. When he asked about Laser's motives, Laser
ordered the guards, including Erich and Heinz, out of the room. He
shared his story, then noticed Iron Man had managed to free his hands.
Iron Man evaded the laser cannon blast, which tore through the facility
wall and sent the soldiers scurrying back. Laser and Iron Man both hit
each other with a blast, then Laser bent light around him to appear
invisible, but Iron Man still managed to knock him aside. Laser blew
out the floor beneath Iron Man, he excited the electrons in the air to
create fire around the hero. Iron Man magnetized the floor, causing it
and Laser to collapse, but Laser tricked the hero with a
hologram-monster, then moved in close to render the hero blind with a
light blast. Iron Man, his eyes protected with polarization, threw
Laser aside and Laser panicked when he felt himself start to overload.
He focused his lasers into a beam that burned through Iron Man's armor
and shoulder, then rushed off for the siphoning chambers, fearing an
overload would set off the nuclear reactors. The doctors loaded him
inside, but Iron Man stopped the process. Feeling he had no other
choice, Iron Man rushed Laser into the upper atmosphere, where he
exploded in a vast blast of light.

(Code of Honor#3) - While most of
the NYC's big-name
heroes were away fighting in the Beyonder's "Secret Wars," Living Laser
partnered with Moonstone, Killer Shrike and another villain in criminal
endeavors. They were stopped by Wonder Man and Beast.

(Secret Wars II#7) - Living Laser
was one of the 99
villains brought together by Mephisto's agent Bitterhorn to destroy the
Beyonder by completing the circuit between the Beyonder and the Beyondersbane.

(Iron Man I#211 (fb) - BTS) -
Parks' energies were slowly collected by a communications satellite.
His human consciousness tried to take control and started interfering
with the satellite's systems over the following months.

(Iron Man I#211) - Iron Man came
to investigate the satellite just as Parks exploded from it. He raced
toward the Earth as a light beam and landed in California, where he
took on a transparent human form. A vagrant named Old George offered
him a drink, but Parks couldn't hold the bottle. Police Jack and
Michael tried arresting him, but couldn't touch him. Parks blasted the
guns out of their hands and rushed off. Disoriented and panicking that
he wasn't human, Laser lashed out at Iron Man, in a new armor, when the
hero offered to help him. He fired multiple laser bursts, phased
through Iron Man's attacks, and even turned himself into a laser beam.
When another Iron Man approached in the original armor (Jim Rhodes),
Laser pursued him, boasting he could move at the speed of light but
recognizing he was limited by his own focus and thought. He finally
trapped this Iron Man in the woods and prepared to kill him, but the
other arrived and the two heroes, working together, trapped Laser in a
highly reflective optic cell, which Laser could only bounce around
inside but not escape.

(Quasar#6) - Flying over New York,
Laser noticed new hero Quasar with a captive Klaw. He used his laser
energy to cut through Quasar's quantum cage, freeing Klaw, then traded
several shots with Quasar, who's blasts passed harmlessly through
Laser, who bound photons to air molecules to create a laser sword. When
Quasar managed to lock in on Laser's energy, Laser felt himself
discorporating and panicked. He rushed at the speed of light to the
blue area of the moon, where he soon saw Quasar following. Not wanting
to run, he found his way into the Watcher's citadel, where he became
incredibly disoriented. Quasar followed him and Laser tried fleeing,
running right into the alien Watcher. He rushed through an
extradimensional portal to escape to Earth-105709.

(Quasar#30 (fb) - BTS) - The Laser
quickly realized he was in an alternate reality when he found his own
dimensional counterpart. Panicking, he rushed back to the moon and
through the extradimensional portal again, returning home. However, he
created a temporal counterpart who continued splitting through other
realities. Quasar later apprehended these counterparts.

(Iron Man I#260 (fb) - BTS) -
Hearing that the original Iron Man had died, Laser felt like he was
cheated of his revenge. He sought to prove the new Iron Man was the
same as the original by using his hologram powers to appear as the
Titanium Man, who the original Iron Man had reportedly killed in
combat.

(Iron Man I#258) - Laser, as
Titanium Man, attacked Stark's nuclear research facility, causing
several reactors to overload and destroying much of the area. Iron Man
arrived and disabled two of the reactors. As he moved to the third,
"Titanium Man's ghost" revealed himself.

(Iron Man
I#259) - "Titanium Man" fired several shots at Iron Man, trapping him
in the wreckage, but the hero rushed past and managed to dislodge the
reactor and explode it in the ocean, away from the facility. Over the
following two days, Iron Man went missing, and Laser set up shards of
mirrors inside the facility wreckage, making it look much like the
inside of a diamond. When Iron Man finally returned, he admitted that
he'd killed the original Titanium Man. Thrilled he could finally have
his revenge, Laser revealed himself and prepared to kill the hero.

(Iron Man I#260) - Laser let off a
massive burst that magnified and reflected as it hit the glassy
surfaces, leaving Iron Man to barely protect himself under an energy
shield. He hit Iron Man with a massive blast and wondered if he'd
destroyed the hero, but Iron Man tried attacking him physically. Laser
continually switched back and forth between solid and intangible,
striking the hero repeatedly. Iron Man briefly downed the Laser by
setting his repulsors to an antagonistic frequency, but Laser focused a
blast of light through Iron Man's shoulder like he had years before. As
the building crashed down around them, Iron Man fell over, seemingly in
a coma. Laser, unwilling to kill his foe in this manner, rushed off in
frustration.

(Iron Man I#263) - A few days
later, Laser returned to Stark's headquarters to find Iron Man again.
He hit the hero with a massive blast, making sure to fuse the circuitry
in his glove so he couldn't disrupt his light frequencies again. He
planned to fuse the entire suit, then to pierce the armor and kill the
hero through his brain, but Avengers Wonder Man and Dr. Pym arrived to
help Iron Man. Wonder Man held Laser off with a mirror shield until
Laser phased, making Wonder Man crash into a mountain. Wonder Man came
out the other side, though, and hit the solid laser, who savagely tried
to burn Wonder Man's face off with a blast. Iron Man then used his
other repulsor ray to disrupt Laser's frequencies, scattering his
substance through the atmosphere.

(Iron Man I#289 (fb) - BTS) -
After reincorporating, Laser decided to get his final revenge on Tony
Stark. He began using his holograms to pose as Stark at Stark
facilities to find out his secrets.

(Iron Man I#286) - Jim Rhodes saw
"Stark" at a meeting.

(Iron Man I#287) - Marcy Pearson
saw "Stark" at Stark Enterprises.

(Iron Man I#288) - "Stark" entered
the main offices of S.E., where he knocked out Bambi Arbogast, then
revealed himself as the Laser to Jim Rhodes, the company's new CEO.

(Iron Man I#289) - Laser angrily
demanded Stark to reveal himself, but learned from Rhodes that Stark
was dead, explaining everyone's bizarre reactions to seeing Stark the
past few days. Laser then demanded Iron Man, but Rhodes caught him
off-guard by telling him Iron Man was fired and by offering Laser a job
as a researcher, giving him state-of-the-art facilities and a million
dollars a day. Laser, remembering his early career, agreed and took a
tour of the facility. Rhodes left briefly and came back in a
prismapolymer refractive coated armor, which was theoretically
laser-proof. Laser, disgusted that he'd fallen for the trick, savagely
attacked this Iron Man again and again, none of his blasts breaking
through. Iron Man hit Laser with repeated physical blows and knocked
him through the floor to the facility's communications chamber. When
Laser refused to surrender, Iron Man had him absorbed into a
communications laser that was aimed at the Andromeda Galaxy. As he
vanished, Laser commented on how cruel Rhodes was to condemn him so.

(Incredible Hulk II#418) - Hearing
the Hulk's sidekick Rick Jones was marrying Marlo Chandler, Laser
(who'd returned to Earth) and other villains decided to taunt him.
Laser, Wizard, Mr. Hyde, and Absorbing Man showed up at the wedding
with invitations, hoping to taunt the Hulk into a fight, but he refused
to fight them.

(New Avengers I#1) - Living Laser
was imprisoned at the Raft when Electro overloaded the systems and
freed dozens of criminals.

(Iron Man: The Inevitable#2 (fb) -
BTS) - Parks' consciousness, which was believed to have been scattered,
addled, and collected multiple times, was stored by a pair of criminals
who appropriated and resold weapons on the black market. With Parks'
mind inert, his energy was stored in an energy tube and was being
resold as a programmable weapons system. Stark, meanwhile, appropriated
some journals that Parks had written while human and in prison, noting
that all the entries were addressed to Lucy.

(Iron Man: The Inevitable#1) -
Stark purchased the tube that housed Laser's energy and took it back to
his company. He hired super human psychiatrist Maggie Dillon to make
contact with Laser, who'd been hooked up to a special system to contain
the laser energy.

(Iron Man: The Inevitable#2) -
Dillon started using technology to enter the energy tube, making her
first attempts at contacting Parks at risk to her own health. She
detected Parks inside screaming in pain.

(Iron Man: The Inevitable#3 - BTS)
- Using more Stark technology, Dillon kept trying to make contact with
Parks. She found where it was housed in the energy system.

(Iron Man: The Inevitable#4) -
Dillon finally made contact with Parks, who appeared before her as a
young child claiming not to know who Arthur was and stating that the
energy system was starting to not feel like home. Slowly reminding him
of his human side, Maggie stood firm when he tried blasting her with
energy in frustration and followed him when he tried flying off. She
easily caught up to him, challenging him to free himself from his
self-imposed mental prison. Fully aware, he remembered being a criminal
and started withdrawing further in himself even as he pushed on the
barriers of his energy prison. He blasted outward in a mighty
explosion, killing Dillon as he rushed free.

(Iron Man: The Inevitable#6) -
Glorying in his power and feeling like he had a new chance for revenge,
Laser attacked Iron Man, who'd been battling Spymaster (Sinclair
Abbott). He fired a focused burst on Iron Man, piercing his armor on
his left bicep and burning him. Laser chased Iron Man through the air,
set a building on fire, and hit the hero with multiple bursts of
focused light. Wanting Iron Man to die, Laser was shocked when Iron Man
used his new armor to absorb the Laser's energy into his system. He
then placed him in a new holding cell.

(Super-Villain Team-Up II#1 (fb) -
BTS) - MODOK contacted Living Laser, offering him five million dollars
to work for him. Laser, feeling that the money could help him become
human again, agreed.

(Super-Villain Team-Up II#1) -
Laser showed up tot he meeting with MODOK alongside several other
criminals, including Deadly Nightshade, Chameleon (secretly
Ultra-Adaptoid), Spot, Armadillo, Mentallo, Puma, and Rocket Racer.
Seeing a pile of money, the villains briefly fought over who would get
to claim it. Laser blasted Armadillo before MODOK broke up the fight,
explaining that all their talents would be needed to steal the
Hypernova device from the Infinicide. The Hypernova, he explained, was
the ultimate fuel source, more powerful than the sun, and the
Infinicide, a group of evolved beings who briefly appeared in the
timeline to study events.

(Super-Villain
Team-Up II#2) - MODOK lead the criminals in a mental training exercise
to steal the Infinicide, but the criminals were all "killed" when they
tried it, Laser getting caught in an energy barrier and broken apart.
As they listened to MODOK lay out the plan, Mentallo tried invading
Mentallo's mind, finding it a complex series of quantum energies barely
held together by Laser's consciousness. Later, they boarded a shop for
China, Laser uncomfortable as they got to know each other.

(Super-Villain Team-Up II#3) -
While "Chameleon" infiltrated the Infinicide, the villains followed
Armadillo through a tunnel underneath it. When it was time, Spot opened
up a teleport hole and Laser, altering beyond the visible spectrum,
took the place of the Hypernova on the ship while Puma stole it. Laser
made sure to give off enough alpha particles to fool the Inficide's
energy level monitors. Laser almost lost himself to the spectrum,
overwhelmed by the evolved energy system. He freed himself and found
"Chameleon" and Puma waiting, but Spot abandoned them there. They
panicked when the Infinicide's security system responded to them. As
they ran, they saw the Infinicide's MODOK-like occupants and witnessed
Puma lose his powers. Laser and Puma fled while "Chameleon" held the
agents off. Laser held the agents off of Puma, infuriated by Puma
complaining that he was human again. Then the Infinicide went crashing
to the ground, with no Hypernova to power it.

(Super-Villain Team-Up II#4) - The
three villains survived the explosion, not knowing it was due to the
Ultra-Adaptoid's use of an invisible shield. They reunited with the
others just before Rocket Racer picked them up in the Big Wheel. They
went chasing after the Mandarin, who'd taken the Hypernova aboard his
dragon-ship. Laser flew after it, promising to update the others by
beaming his voice back as radio waves. He soon found Mandarin before
the Hypernova and tried sneaking up on him. Laser was shocked beyond
belief when Mandarin not only detected him, but managed to harness his
chi in hurting Laser with a kick. Suddenly overcome with feeling
something as human as pain, Laser begged Mandarin to hurt him again and
again. Mandarin soon trapped Laser in an energy bubble and tried
crushing him within it. Puma, with his powers restored, attacked
Mandarin then and the ship crashed to the ground.

(Super-Villain Team-Up II#5) -
Laser reformed himself just in time to absorb a blast Mandarin directed
at Nightshade. Revealing his true nature, the Ultra-Adaptoid attacked
the others, demanding to know where the Hypernova was, hitting Laser
with a fiery blast and using a shield to stop Laser's blasts. They soon
stopped the Adaptoid and found the Hypernova, which Laser revealed he'd
had. He confessed to placing a solid hologram next to the real
Hypernova, and bending light around the other to render it invisible.
He planned to open the Hypernova and use it to turn his energy into
human matter again. When the others threatened to kill him, he didn't
care, willing to experience seconds of humanity rather than none at
all. The Hypernova absorbed Laser, then teleported back to MODOK, who'd
secretly replaced the Hypernova with a construct of his own and trapped
the Laser. Monica Rappaccini and AIM then purchased the false Hypernova
from MODOK, but when they got it back to headquarters, an insane Laser
came out of it and blew up in a mighty explosion, seemingly killing the
entire AIM branch.

(New Avengers I#35) - Laser
attended a meeting, alongside several criminals, held by the Hood, who
was seeking to organize crime in New York. Hood offered them each
$25,000 to affiliate with him and several criminals took him up on the
offer.

(New Avengers Annual#2) - Laser
was part of the Hood's super villain army that ambushed the "New"
Avengers base at Dr. Strange's mansion. After a deadly battle with the
heroes (Luke Cage, Dr. Strange, Echo, Iron Fist, Ronin, Spider-Man,
Wolverine), the villains were defeated by a Zom-powered Strange and
picked up by SHIELD.

(New Avengers#46) - Living Laser
was present along with the rest of the Hood's army when they tortured a
SHIELD agent who proved to be a Skrull. Guided by Demonicus, the Hood
used his demonic powers to determine that a skrull was impersonating
the Slug, and he shot and killed the imposter.

(New Avengers I#55 (fb)) - After
the battle with the
Avengers, the Hood's gang collected themselves, with Living Laser
seemingly in human form.

(Dark Reign: The Hood#1) - The Hood put Chemistro,
Centurius, Demonicus, the Answer, and Living Laser on a special
project. He promised to be in touch soon.

(Avengers: The Initiative#25) - At
the Hood's orders,
Living Laser, Scorcher, Griffin, and Razor-Fist pursued Gauntlet and
Tigra into the New York sewers, but the heroes escaped in a mysterious
cave-in. Later, the Hood's army took base at the Initiative
headquarters at Camp HAMMER in New Mexico, posing as registered
super-heroes under Osborn's regime.

(New Avengers I#55) - When the
Hood went missing with
Madame Masque and John King, the other members of his gang argued over
who would take a leadership role. A seemingly human Living Laser
invited the Wrecking Crew to get out on their own. Jonas Harrow soon
announced his plans to use a power inhibitor against the Avengers.
Members of the Hood's gang included: Piledriver, Thunderball,
Bulldozer, Wrecker, Griffin, Tiger Shark, Brothers Grimm, Living Laser,
Blood Brother, Blackout, Corruptor, Crossfire, Mandrill, Dr. Demonicus,
Shockwave, Scarecrow, Corruptor, Chemistro, and others.

(New Avengers I#57) - The Living Laser watched Osborn agree to Harrow's terms. The
power dampener switched off, allowing the New Avengers to escape via a Quinjet that blasted the assembled army of villains.

(Avengers: The Initiative#27) -
Living Laser,
Scorcher, and Penance accompanied Taskmaster to the Negative Zone,
where they destroyed several aliens who'd been holding prison 42.

(New Avengers I#60) - A furious
Hood returned to his
army and killed Jonas Harrow for his betrayal. Hood chided the
criminals for their panicked actions, and told them they now had to
follow Osborn's orders. Osborn told them to hunt the unregistered
heroes and bring them back, dead or alive.

(New Avengers I#61) - The Hood
used the Asgardian
Norn Stones to give those in his army the ability to track down the
targeted heroes, increasing their own strength and power as well.
Living Laser immediately attacked the two Captain Americas (Steve
Rogers, recently back from the dead, and James Barnes), scattering them
with a near fatal laser burst. He was briefly disrupted when they fired
back on him, then he waited impatiently as the Corruptor forced them to
battle each other, wanting simply to kill them but standing aside. When
a wayward shot defeated Corruptor, Living Laser turned up the heat on
the two heroes.

(New Avengers I#62) - Laser's fight with Luke Cage
and the Captain Americas continued. Distracted by a punch to the head
by Cage, Barnes took the opportunity to elecroctue Living Laser.

(New Avengers I#64 (fb)) - The
Hood approached his
army and let them know of Osborn’s offer to make them certified heroes
if they participated in the siege on Asgard. Living Laser and Mandrill
were teased about their failure to ensnare the Avengers. Mandrill opted
out of the deal, feeling like Osborn was using them all as cannon
fodder, so the Hood violently ripped his powers away from him, leaving
Mandrill in pain. Mandrill quickly changed his mind and returned to the
group.

(Avengers: The Initiative#34) -
During the battle for
Camp: HAMMER, Living Laser fired on Gauntlet, who held him off with his
armored arm. Soon, Hood ordered his soldiers to abandon the site and
teleport with him to Asgard to aid Osborn in battle.

(Siege#3/New Avengers I#63/Thor I#608) - In the
ensuing battle with Asgard, Living Laser fired upon multiple
Asgardians, as well as Spider-Woman and Mockingbird.

(New Avengers I#64) - Later,
during the siege of
Asgard, Loki took away all their additional powers as the city crashed
around them.

(Thunderbolts I#158/Fear
Itself: Homefront#2/1 (fb) - BTS) – Living Laser was ridiculing
Man-Bull when an explosion wrecked the Raft, leading to a mass breakout
of prisoners. Living Laser, along with Aftershock, Ember, Icemaster,
and Whirlwind, stole a craft and made a run for it, determined to wreak
havoc.

(Fear Itself: Homefront#2/1) – The
villains attacked the town of Stamford, CT, where Living Laser blasted
over a church steeple and the others tortured civilians. When Speedball
attacked, Living Laser blasted him multiple times and they soon
defeated the hero, but the villains chose to run for it. During the
fight, Living Laser had cajoled Speedball about their time in the
Initiative together. As they departed, Living Laser ridiculed Icemaster
about consuming too many fruit pies.

(Invincible Iron Man I#511) –
Stane and Mandarin sent Living Laser, in new armor, to attack Iron Man.
He exploited a weakness in Iron Man’s armor by actually entering the
armor and taking a recording of it, sending the hero into cardiac
arrest, then returned the data to Stane at light speed, where he
learned Mandarin could kill him if he wanted.

(Invincible Iron Man I#512) – At
their base in China, Living Laser discussed the kill switch with
Blizzard.

(Invincible
Iron Man I#513) – Mandarin and Stane stood before a large group of Iron
Man’s foes, including Blizzard, Chemistro, Crimson Dynamo, Firebrand,
Firepower, MAULER, Melter, Titanium Man, Vibro, and Whirlwind, and
prepped them for battle.

(Invincible
Iron Man I#515) – After Whirlwind and the Melter severely wounded War
Machine in California, Living Laser flew in and delivered the kill shot
before Iron Man could get there, then the villains fled.

(Invincible
Iron Man I#522) – Living Laser and others were sent out by Mandarin to
gather materials to build a weapon of mass destruction (WMD).

(Invincible Iron Man I#527) - China honored those who had saved them from the Mandarin.

(Iron Man V#3) - In Colombia, drug lord Juan Carlos
Valencia used Extremis to save his daughter, Juliana, and hired Living
Laser, Vibro, and the female Firebrand to defend him from Iron Man.
They briefly battled the hero before Valencia dismissed them.

Comments:
Created by Stan Lee and Don Heck.

Living Laser has entries in
Official Handbook of the
Marvel Universe I#6, Deluxe Edition#7, Master Edition and All-New
OHotMU Update#1.

Costa Verde may be an
homage to the Matt Helm novel "The Ambushers," which also features a
country by that name.
--Per Degaton